Success Stories

Litespeed Bicycles

Chattanooga, TN

Swiftwick

Tennessee-based Swiftwick, a leading U.S. producer of athletic compression socks became involved with TNTrade in earlier 2013 at the very beginning of the program’s launch. At the time, CEO Mark A. Cleveland saw an opportunity for Swiftwick in Canada, where consumers had been purchasing socks online for years. Cleveland knew that international expansion required a goal so he attended the launch meeting of TNTrade and participated in Export 101 classes to help identity his approach.

Swiftwick was matched up with a TNECD export specialist who was able to walk Swiftwick through the necessary steps to initiate a successful export strategy from beginning to end. This partnership secured Swiftwick their first Canadian distributor, Rock Gear Distribution, a company that serves hundreds of dealers for sporting goods and travel retailers. The deal with RGD comes after a year of substantial growth for Swiftwick. In 2013, Swiftwick brought in record-breaking revenue with 33 percent overall growth.

Swiftwick is currently working with TNECD export specialists to set up distribution deals in the UK and EU.

Ampro Industries

Ampro (Memphis) is an established Tennessee company with a significant market share throughout the USA in hair care products. The company recently committed to increasing its exports but was unsure of the potential market size, possible competitors, price points and which markets in Europe to prioritize. TN Export staff provided the company with a detailed market landscape comparing the UK with other major European market, profiling major competitors, sharing comparative price tables, summarizing potential end-client profiles and offering detailed market regulations. Ampro now has a clear vision of which markets to prioritize and their best route to market. The company remains committed to driving up exports in Europe and we look forward to assisting them with their next stages. After the chemical compositions are finalized this fall, Ampro plans an extensive UK/EU launch of its products.

Litespeed Bicycles

After an extensive search we arranged two meetings with Polish distributors for American Bicycle (Chattanooga) at Eurobike in Friedrichshafen, Germany, Europe’s leading trade show for bikes. The agreements resulting from these meetings are being finalized.

Treeworks Chimes

After conducting an initial distributor search, we organized meetings with three French music instrument dealers at Musikmesse Frankfurt for Treeworks Chimes (Nashville) this spring. We were able to identify dealers who already knew the products and were very excited about getting in contact with the company. We are still awaiting the official deal.

VersaTube Building Systems

After TN Export specialists connected VersaTube Building Systems with distributors in Mexico, they recently received verbal commitment from AutoZone Mexico to begin ordering their products in all of their regional stores. They have also received interest from Corey Building Products and Techos en Arcos.